WEEKEND WRAP: Petes’ team effort paying off

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(PETERBOROUGH) Looking at the 1995/96 Florida Panthers roster, it’s hard to believe that they finished their regular season with 92 points and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final where they lost to the Colorado Avalanche.
After goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, the Panthers’ bench didn’t seat household names. The team was made up of hard working journeymen that put egos aside and played for the logo on the front of the jersey rather than the name on the back.
“It was a good group of guys that worked hard for each other,” says Peterborough Petes interim head coach Jody Hull, who played four years with the Panthers.
“When you have that, it is amazing how far it can carry you and take you.”
Hull says the Petes are a lot like the the Panthers.
“It started right away with the things I told the guys, like being accountable on and off the ice and for each other in the dressing room,” he says.
“The guys’ attitudes and demeanors at the rink have changed and they have a little bit of a bounce in their steps.”
And they should walk with a swagger, after winning two of three on the road, while moving within six points of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Petes started off the road swing with a barn burner Thursday (Jan. 31) in Windsor, beating the Spitfires 7-5 with two third-period goals. The Petes picked up a 4-2 victory Friday (Feb. 1) against the Saginaw Spirit, before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Plymouth Whalers on Saturday (Feb. 2).
“Our confidence level is pretty high right now,” Hull explains.
“We found a way to win in the third and I think that just carried us through to Friday against Saginaw and on Saturday we just ran into a little bit of a bees nest in Plymouth with them losing the night before.”
The Petes success under Hull can be contributed to a lot of things. Andrew D’Agostini and Michael Giugovaz have provided solid goaltending, their defensive play has improved and the team is getting things done offensively by committee. The Petes had 10 different goal scorers on the road trip, which saw them light the lamp 12 times.
“It is a bunch of different guys every night that seem to be rising to the occasion,” Hull says.
“When you see that happening, you know you’re playing well as a team and that we’re not relying on certain guys every game to get us going.”
Without a bona fide superstar on the maroon and white, hard work will have to continue to supersede talent and the players only have to look to their coach’s former team to know the formula works. The year that the Panthers went to the Cup, only four players, including Hull, had 20 or more goals with Scott Mellanby leading the team with 32 markers,
“We didn’t care who scored. All that mattered was the result at the end of the night,” says Hull.
“We won as a team and lost as a team. There was no pointing figures and that is what I see (that there’s no finger pointer) in the dressing room right now.”
The Petes are back in action Wednesday (Feb. 6) when they travel to Ottawa to face the 67’s. The Petes will be back at home Thursday (Feb. 7) when they will take on the Windsor Spitfires at the Memorial Centre.
tvandonk@mykawartha.com